Paleontologists discovered the most 'repetitive' reptile in the Cretaceous period

In the animal kingdom, many birds and mammals use their songs and breeds to attract mates during the embryonic season, and we humans have love songs.

Reptiles, meanwhile, lack the vocal cords so often they are very silent, but recent research has found that there is a small crocodile in the White Part period who is a "vocalist". the love songs".

The Bauru Basin is a basin located in the southeastern region of Brazil where archaeologists have found large numbers of paleontological fossils, including many fossils of century crocodiles. White chalk.

Bauru Basin.

In 2011, paleontologists Fabiano V. Iori and Ismar S. Carvalho placed on a small crocodile species living in the Cretaceous period discovered in the Bauru Basin, Caipirasuchus, with the full scientific name of Caipirasuchus paulistanus .

Location found fossils.

Paleontologists and crocodile fossils Caipirasuchus paulistanus.

After studying and naming this small worm, paleontologists have named three other closely related species, including a fossil specimen discovered since 2008 and was named Caipira Suchus montealtensis. Their fossil specimen is coded MPMA 15-001 / 90, including a complete skull and dorsal spine, and was discovered about 8 km from Montalto.

Fossils include the complete skull and backbone.

Caipirasuchus is a small prehistoric crocodile with a total body length of about 1 meter, but compared to the body ratio, they own a very large head. According to fossil analysis, paleontologists discovered that they have quite large eyes on the head, so it is likely that this species is a very good meat force, their overall rate is also different from other species. the common crocodile we still know. Compared to modern crocodiles, they have shorter bodies, long legs and higher standing than most crocodiles that people have known.

Image restoring the head of the crocodile Caipirasuchus.

Caipirasuchus crocodile has a big mouth and two sharp rows of teeth in the mouth. Unlike the crocodile teeth we are familiar with, Caipirasuchus' crocodile teeth are not cones, instead are flat and curved backwards, like dinosaur teeth.

They possess a short neck and solid body, especially the rear body with very strong back and tail bone, which can protect the back.

This small crocodile has a long tail and tapering backwards instead of expanding and flattening like today's dried fish. What's more special is that their limbs grow perpendicular to the ground rather than short and curved like modern crocodiles, so it can be seen that this crocodile has the ability to run very fast on land, estimated speed their degrees will be on par with today's dogs.

This small crocodile has a long tail and tapering back.

From the model to restore the shape of this crocodile can see their body structure is very different from today's crocodiles. Caipirasuchus are all prehistoric crocodiles that live completely on land, so they no longer need to own the body structure of aquatic life and with such a body, they are really a crocodile. Extremely agile and flexible when on land.

Caipirasuchus crocodile fossils were found in Brazil in the Adamantina Formation geological formation of the late Cretaceous period, which lasted from 90 million years to 68 million years ago.

Through carbon dating analysis, it can be seen that this small crocodile lived from 90 million years to 83 million years ago, this is the period of life of many other dinosaurs, such as: Adamantisaurus, Aeolosaurus, Antarctosaurus, Gondwanatitan, Maxakalisaurus, Pycnonemosaurus .

In South America at the end of the Cretaceous, yellow stars were the place to find fossils of dinosaurs and other ancient creatures.

Adamantisaurus.

Antarctosaurus.

Maxakalisaurus.

Pycnonemosaurus.

Because of that time, Caipirasuchus crocodile was subject to enormous pressure of survival from dinosaurs. They must always flee from the hunt of large carnivorous dinosaurs as well as compete with their prey for small carnivorous dinosaurs.

So they need to evolve in the direction of developing speed to be able to flee and be able to catch prey as quickly as possible. According to research, paleontologists believe that their food is not only molluscs, insects, small lizards but also the eggs and newborn dinosaurs in the menu.

The food of this crocodile includes eggs and newborn dinosaurs.

Judging from the fossils that have been found to date, there are many different species of small land crocodiles on Earth during this period, but the most common is the Caipirasuchus in South America, which is also Demonstrate the success of the species' evolutionary and adaptive strategies.

The special thing about this crocodile is that they can sing.

If you think that Caipirasuchus is just a small land crocodile living in the normal Cretaceous, then perhaps you're mistakenly big, paleontologists discovered that the most special thing about this species is that they have can sing .

They have a special cavity inside the skull.

By excavating the intact box fossil specimen of this species, paleontologists have studied and discovered they have a special cavity inside the skull.

Using computerized tomography, paleontologists restored the structure and discovered that the rest of the palate was also connected to this particular cavity.

The same structure is also found on the skull of the Ganges crocodile, which can attract mates by making sounds through the nasal cavity connected to the palate and crocodile Caipirasuchus can also do the same thing.

This crocodile can attract mates by making sounds through the nasal cavity connected to the palate.